Suzanne & Geraldine Ardis are married and
raising three boys in Clinton, CT.
raising three boys in Clinton, CT.
Interesting news on the civil rights front. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) arefiling lawsuits today challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on behalf of same-sex married couples from New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and New York.
The New York Times reports in ("Gay Couples To Sue U.S. Over Marriage Law"):
The two new lawsuits, which involve plaintiffs from New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire, expand the attack geographically and also encompass more of the 1,138 federal laws and regulations that the Defense of Marriage Act potentially affects — including the insurance costs amounting to several hundred dollars a month in the case of Ms. Pedersen and Ms. Meitzen, and a $350,0000 estate tax payment in the A.C.L.U. case.
The civil liberties union filed suit on behalf of Edith S. Windsor, whose spouse, Thea C. Spyer, died last year of aortic stenosis. The two women, New Yorkers who had been together for 44 years, married in Toronto in 2007. New York officially recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states. Had the two been man and wife, there would have been no federal estate tax to pay.
“It’s just so unfair,” said Ms. Windsor, who is 81.
Taken together, said Mary Bonauto, the director of the Civil Rights Project for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the cases show same-sex couples “are falling through the safety net other people count on.”
Traditionally, Ms. Bonauto noted, the federal government has left the definition of marriage to the states. “The federal government has respected those determinations, except in the instance of gay and lesbian couples marrying,” she said. The result, she said, is a violation of constitutional guarantees of equal protection.
GLAD does not play around. Many people (including yours truly) expect them to win their other lawsuit challenging DOMA, Gill v. OPM, which is currently before the 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals with GLAD having already won at the district court level. That lawsuit was on behalf of same-sex couples who have been married in Massachusetts for at least 5 years.
Do you think DOMA will still be federal law five years from now?
First of all, I should hope not. Things are changing rapidly in the new millennium, and gay politics are becoming a genuine concern for everyone. With gays in the mainstream media (as I continue to freak out over the episode of Glee I just watched), gays in the news in the wake of recent teen suicides, and gay politicians becoming so prevalent, along with an increasing number of people willing to publicly declare themselves allies, I sincerely believe that at some point soon it will become more of a risk not to publicly support GLBT rights than it would be to support them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, holy crap! Not sure if the NYT article mentions this (I'm too lazy to create an account right now so I wasn't able to access it) but Edith S. Windsor and Thea C. Spyer actually had a documentary made about them in their quest to become legally married. I saw it last summer at QDoc, Portland OR's gay documentary festival and the only one in the nation. It was one of the most touching films I've ever seen, and the review in the local paper (quite rightly in my mind) went as far as suggesting that everyone be required to see it before voting no on marriage equality.
Also, because I spaced out, here's a link to the movie in question.
ReplyDelete